A little Poodle found her way to me and my parents as we were loading their vehicle.
Lots of GRIEF and LOTS of "I can't do anything" later....2 hours....to be exact, Mommie and Pup were reunited.

ACCORDING to the ONE "manager" that actually took the time out to try and help, The DURHAM N.C. COSTCO has a NO EXCEPTION POLICY about dogs in the building. The "manager" even went so far as to explain to me, that EVEN IF we tried to "sneak the dog in"..."color-coded" vests...etc wouldn't be good enough. THEY REQUIRE "Paperwork" for every dog.

In the Midst of all this, I found out COSTCO MANAGERS don't even know what an ADAM ALERT is. Gal ACTUALLY told me, that the people on the floor... IF they are paying attention and IF they have their "radios" ON...."they" COSTCO takes care of it like that....They just "radio" one another. THEN proceeded to tell me about having a child on her "hip" long enough to process SEVERAL "receiving orders", before the parents showed up.

The manager told me point blank...she didn't care IF you had harnesses and all. IF, you did not have notarized paperwork with you, your service dog was not welcome & you are SOL.

Which means the manager would be violating federal law.

Quote:

Originally Posted by swabby

TRUE, I don't have kids, but the very FACT they don't have an "Adam Alert" in place concerns me.

Secondly....ALL I wanted to do, was walk through the building and ask...until I found Maggie's Mom and Dad. With NO PA system in place, I consider that the VERY least they could have done.

ADAM ALERT! Surely, I am not the only one posting to be on lock-down...until an errant 5-y-o was corralled in WalMart. Yet, there were cheers for all.

A Code Adam would not apply in the case of a missing dog. A dog is not a human child. Since the poodle was A.) not a child, and B.) not a service dog, the manager was completely within her rights to bar the dog from her store, even for you to walk through the building in an effort to find its owner.

A Code Adam would not apply in the case of a missing dog. A dog is not a human child. Since the poodle was A.) not a child, and B.) not a service dog, the manager was completely within her rights to bar the dog from her store, even for you to walk through the building in an effort to find its owner.

All this. All of it. I see nothing wrong with what happened. If you find a dog in the parking lot, either wait outside, or go home and post it on Craigslist/whatever else.

A harness, vest, or "paperwork" do not make a dog a service dog. Being individually trained to performs tasks or work for the disabled handlers makes a dog a service dog. I don't know where you get this "notarized paperwork" thing from.

FYI "Amber alert" is the term issued for media when a child is missing. "Code Adam" is a Wal-mart code for missing children. Many stores have their own codes. Target had one, it's a color (all three alerts for various things are colors.) The name, nor details of the expected response by employees, is not made public by most stores nor announced overhead so people don't hear and try to make off with a kid who isn't theirs. I can assure you it doesn't involve running through the store with the kid asking everybody "does this belong to you?"
But a dog is not a child and suggesting they put out a missing child alert for a dog, if I'm understanding that's what you were asking them to do is, um... really bizarre.

I wouldn't expect them to lock the building down or even let me bring the dog in, but making an announcement over the PA seems the least they could do. Not everyone can just bring a found dog home with them, but you don't want to just leave the dog running around the parking lot...

I hate to say it, but it sounds like you put the store manager on defensive. They sell food, of course you can't just wander around with a dog, especially a stray dog. Service dogs are trained not to do things stray dogs will do.

"The "manager" even went so far as to explain to me, that EVEN IF we tried to "sneak the dog in"..."color-coded" vests...etc wouldn't be good enough. THEY REQUIRE "Paperwork" for every dog." If this was his reaction to you saying "but what about service dogs?" just after the conversation about letting you in to find the owners, then yeah, I can understand it. They probably don't require paperwork, but he'd ask for some kind of proof if you came back with a vest on the poodle.

As far as the Adam Alert announcement, that's a WalMart publicity thing. I work in retail and Beanie's right, most stores don't publicize their codes. But there's somebody at ever exit at Costco and everybody's got radios. You couldn't even wander out with an extra tube of toothpaste, let alone a child in your cart.

If somebody lost their dog, they wouldn't be cruising the aisles of Costco looking for it, they'd ask at the front. You notified the management, that was the best idea. Glad you persisted and found the owners, that's what really counts.

Btw, a stray dog in a parking lot, it really could have come from anywhere.

I hate to say it, but it sounds like you put the store manager on defensive. They sell food, of course you can't just wander around with a dog, especially a stray dog. Service dogs are trained not to do things stray dogs will do.

"The "manager" even went so far as to explain to me, that EVEN IF we tried to "sneak the dog in"..."color-coded" vests...etc wouldn't be good enough. THEY REQUIRE "Paperwork" for every dog." If this was his reaction to you saying "but what about service dogs?" just after the conversation about letting you in to find the owners, then yeah, I can understand it. They probably don't require paperwork, but he'd ask for some kind of proof if you came back with a vest on the poodle.

As far as the Adam Alert announcement, that's a WalMart publicity thing. I work in retail and Beanie's right, most stores don't publicize their codes. But there's somebody at ever exit at Costco and everybody's got radios. You couldn't even wander out with an extra tube of toothpaste, let alone a child in your cart.

If somebody lost their dog, they wouldn't be cruising the aisles of Costco looking for it, they'd ask at the front. You notified the management, that was the best idea. Glad you persisted and found the owners, that's what really counts.

Btw, a stray dog in a parking lot, it really could have come from anywhere.

I have to agree with this 100%.

I wouldn't assume a pet in a parking lot was from that store, it could have easily wandered over from anywhere or a nearby residential area.

And it sounds like you wanted him to use Costcos child alert system for a dog? I understand wanting to find the dogs, but you can't use a child alert on a dog. That devalues the alert. And besides the fact that the health department does not allow animals inside buildings that sell food, many regular retail stores do not allow animals. So it's not at all surprising they wouldn't allow a dog in let alone a stray.

And yes, you probably put him on the defensive. I work for a company that allows dogs for a fee, I can't tell you how many people try to say their dog is a service dog so they don't have to pay and it very obviously is not.